The Canada Life Business Boost

After receiving almost 4,000 applications from across the country, Canada Life™ chose 12 small businesses to receive a $10,000 grant.

We heard amazing stories of creativity and resiliency from small businesses across the country about how they adjusted to keep their doors open and serve their communities during this challenging time.

At Canada Life, we’re committed to supporting the well-being of Canadians, and we recognize that small businesses are at the heart of the communities we call home. We’re proud to have helped make a difference for these businesses at a time when they needed it most. We hope their stories will help inspire others in the face of adversity caused by the pandemic.

Who are the 12 recipients and where are they located?

The final 12 recipients are spread across Canada, from coast to coast
They’re made up of all different types of business models and industries
A coffee shop, social enterprise, and children’s causes were among the selections

Why did you choose these 12?

We put together a multi-disciplinary team from across our organization to help review applications. We chose these 12 recipients based on things like geographic diversity, business diversity, creative business approaches during the pandemic, how they planned to use the grant and more.

Situated on the Samson reserve – Samson Management Ltd. supplies its residents with gasoline, food, prescription medications and other essential supplies. They also provide employment and training opportunities for those in nearby communities. With this grant, they plan to implement a new health and safety initiative where they’ll train employees across the company.

This organization supports students who struggle to read and/or have learning disabilities to ultimately help them reach their potential. With this $10,000, they plan to offer more programming and an online platform to meet the increased demand they’re seeing, while staying COVID-safe.

This marketing firm develops campaigns that communicate to Nunavummiut in their own language, and that showcase the art and natural beauty of Nunavut to the rest of the world. They also help promote local businesses in Nunavut. With our grant of $10,000, they plan to train an employee, purchase new lights for their office (it’s dark a lot in Nunavut!) and organize things like a “burger week”, “poutine week” and “pizza week” where they’ll encourage locals to order from nearby restaurants.

This Canadian-made women’s wear clothing line provides quality, homemade products. But the best part is, it’s a social enterprise that gives back to children in local hospitals. A portion of sales is put towards a program where they design children’s dream dresses and superhero capes and gift them to the children when they’re finished. They plan to use our grant to create a marketing plan and purchase materials and supplies for the program.

This fundraising platform helps families raise money for youth sports by earning cash back on their household spending. This helps alleviate the financial impact of youth team sports, which levels the playing field and gives opportunities to families who may otherwise not be able to afford it. They’ll use this $10,000 to fund team grant programs and support marketing activities when it comes time for team sports to start up again.

This pediatric physiotherapy clinic offers quality, private and highly specialized treatment in a fun environment. Every session is customized for each child and designed to help them realize their physical capabilities. With $10,000, they’ll invest in new systems to train their employees virtually and purchase additional equipment like plexiglass, cleaning products and personal protective equipment.